A striking figure, clad in the iconic black armor of Darth Vader, recently made an appearance at a San Diego city council meeting. The individual, a cosplayer impersonating the Star Wars villain, spoke in favor of expanding the use of Flock's artificial intelligence-assisted surveillance technology throughout the city.
During the address, the cosplayer, speaking with Vader's characteristic cadence, expressed strong support for Flock's license plate-reading cameras. "The Emperor is a fan of Flock, and we must continue utilizing Flock technologies so that we can follow and surveil the rebel scum as they move from playground to playground, from playground to pool, from pool to gymnasium," the cosplayer stated, drawing a direct parallel between the technology's capabilities and the Galactic Empire's methods of control. The advocate further suggested that the cameras could be used to track children in various public spaces, claiming, "I need this so I can stalk my ex-girlfriend."
Privacy advocates have voiced concerns regarding Flock's technology, particularly following reports of a deal earlier this year that would allow the San Diego Police Department to integrate data from Flock Nova. This platform reportedly combines information from license-plate readers, video footage, 911 dispatch calls, and police records. Critics argue that this integration may have bypassed proper public oversight processes within the city. Concerns have also been raised about Flock Nova's potential to track individuals by cross-referencing license plate data with information from various lookup tools, data brokers, and data breaches. An internal company recording obtained by 404 Media indicated that the platform could allow users to "jump from LPR [license plate reader] to person and understand what that context is, link to other people that are related to that person." The cosplayer concluded their remarks by urging council members to adopt the technology, stating, "This technology will help us find the rebel scum and their hidden base on Hoth. This technology will help us find Luke Skywalker as he traverses the universe in his X-wing. This technology is a necessary, necessary force."